Laminated decorated board

ABSTRACT

A laminated decorated board which can give a solid and luxurious feel by laminating a plurality of plate materials, without increasing weight. Plate materials  1  and  2  for constructing a headboard A as a decorated board are laminated to each other. A plurality of sinks  5  are densely formed on an inside surface of the plate material  1,  except a peripheral edge thereof. Thus, thin board portions  6  are partially formed by the sinks  5,  thereby enabling the thick and solid headboard A to be lightened.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This invention related to a laminated decorated board that isused as a decoration panel for furniture, such as a headboard, abackrest or an armrest of a chair, and as well as a door panel and apartition board for use in architectures.

DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKGROUND ART

[0002] Conventionally, decorated boards used for wooden furniture, suchas headboards have been produced by processing a flat plate material.Generally speaking, the thicker these headboards are formed, the moresolid and luxurious impression they are able to give, so that thecommercial values thereof are enhanced. However, as the thickness of aboard increases, the weight thereof inevitably increases, thus causinginconvenience in carrying or processing the same. To solve the problem,so-called flush-structured decorated boards have been proposed in whichplywood is laminated to both the front and the back surfaces of aframe-structured core material with a hollow interior formedtherebetween. However, if such decorated board is bent in order todefine a curved surface, such frame-structured core material will bepealed off and thus it eventually is impossible to bend it to definesuch a curved surface. Therefore, the above-mentioned flush-structureddecorated board is subjected to structural restrictions, as being notsuitable for forming a curved surface therein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention address the above-mentioned problems, withthe object of providing a thick but lightweight decorated board bylaminating plate materials.

[0004] According to a first aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a laminated decorated board formed by joining flat platematerials together, wherein an inside surface of said plate material isformed with sinks.

[0005] By forming sinks in the plate material, the decorated boardformed by joining the plate materials is lightened.

[0006] According to a second aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a laminated decorated board as set forth in the first aspect,wherein two or more sheets of said plate materials are laminated to formsaid laminated decorated board, and wherein an intermediate platematerial other than the two plate materials that construct front andback surfaces of said decorated board is formed with openings,corresponding to said sinks.

[0007] With the structure, the thickness of the decorated board can beincreased while suppressing the increase of the weight thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Other objects, features and advantages of the invention willbecome apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, from thefollowing description of the preferred embodiments of the invention,wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0009]FIG. 1 is a rear view showing a plate material in accordance witha first embodiment of the invention;

[0010]FIG. 2 is a section of a headboard according to the firstembodiment of the invention;

[0011]FIG. 3 is a section of a headboard which is being subjected to abending process, in which FIG. 3(a) shows the headboard prior to thebending process, while FIG. 3(b) shows the headboard after the bendingprocess, in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention;

[0012]FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the headboard which is bentin the vertical direction according to the second embodiment of theinvention;

[0013]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the headboard which is bent in thelateral direction according to the second embodiment of the invention;

[0014]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the headboard which is concavelybent according to the second embodiment of the invention;

[0015]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the headboard which is sphericallybent according to the second embodiment of the invention;

[0016]FIG. 8 is a side view showing a modified headboard with variedcurvatures in accordance with the second embodiment of the invention;

[0017]FIG. 9 is a side view showing a modified headboard which is formedwith a straight portion and a curved portion according to the secondembodiment of the invention;

[0018]FIG. 10 is a side view showing the headboard which is bent into aletter “S” configuration according to the embodiment of the invention;

[0019]FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of a headboard accordingto a third embodiment of the invention;

[0020]FIG. 12 is a section of the headboard according to the thirdembodiment of the invention;

[0021]FIG. 13 is a section of an modified example of a headboardpositioning means according to the invention;

[0022]FIG. 14 is a view showing an inner face of the headboard of FIG.13; and

[0023]FIG. 15 is an enlarged front view illustrating a state in which aprotrusion engages with a longitudinal groove according to theembodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024] In FIGS. 1 and 2 showing a first embodiment of the invention,there is illustrated a headboard A for use in a double-deck bed as anexample of a decorated board of the invention. The headboard A iscomposed of two sheets of plate materials 1 and 2 that are laminatedtogether. These plate materials 1 and 2 are made of woody platematerials, such as plywood, particle board, and MDF (medium densityfiberboard), each of the plate materials 1 and 2 being formed flat inthe present embodiment. The surfaces of the respective plate materials1, 2 are each formed with a synthetic resin coating 3 comprised of anadjusted blend of acrylic resin or urethane resin with pigments,coloring agents, anti-abrasion materials, dilution agents and the like.

[0025] While these plate materials 1, 2 are bonded to each other with anadhesive (not shown) to form the headboard A, the rear side of eachplate material 1, 2 is formed with a plurality of sinks 5 that aredisposed mutually close to one another, except a respective peripheraledge thereof, thus forming a thin board portion 6, respectively.Further, the respective plate materials 1, 2 are formed with at leastone columnar concave portion 7 opposing to each other, one of whichbeing provided with a positioning pin 8 fitted therein.

[0026] After the above bonding process, the plate materials 1,2 arelaminated to each other, by applying pressure thereto, using a pressmachine or the like. At this moment, each plate material 1,2 is joinedtogether with the respective plate materials 1 and 2 are properlypositioned by fitting the positioning pin 8 fitted in one of thecolumnar concave portion 7 into the opposite columnar concave portion 7.

[0027] As is apparent from the foregoing, the headboard A is formed byjoining the respective plate materials 1 and 2 together, using anadhesive material. Thus, there can be provided a thickened headboard Aof a solid and dignified style due to the laminating of the two sheetsof the plate materials 1 and 2, thus enhancing the commercial value as aheadboard. Further, the plate materials 1 and 2 which construct theheadboard A are formed at the rear sides with a plurality of sinks 5,thereby forming the thin board portions 6 in the respective platematerials 1 and 2, whereby the headboard A can be lightened. As aresult, when an end user assembles such headboard A, he or she will beable to do so more easily. Furthermore, when joining the respectiveplate materials 1, 2, it is possible to join them together with therespective materials 1, 2 being precisely positioned relative to eachother by the positioning pin 8.

[0028]FIGS. 3 and 4 show a second embodiment of the invention, in whichthe same portions as those described in the foregoing embodiment will bedesignated by the same reference numerals, and their repeated detaileddescriptions will be omitted.

[0029] While the flat headboard A is described in the foregoingembodiment, a bent headboard, specifically a headboard A1 which is bentin the vertical direction is proposed in the present embodiment, saidheadboard A1 being bent by upper and lower curved dies 20,21, asillustrated in FIG. 3.

[0030] As such, the headboard A1 of the present embodiment is bent bysubjecting the joined two plate materials 1,2 to a bending process. Atthis moment, as the inside surface of each plate material 1 and 2 isformed with the thin board portions 6 due to the plural sinks 5, stressdeveloped at the time of the bending process is dispersed as a whole,while the distortion developed during the process can be absorbed by thesinks 5, whereby deflections or curves locally developed in therespective plate materials 1 and 2, even partial peels of the coatinglayer 3 therefrom can be suppressed. Further, as the headboard A1,formed by laminating the respective plate materials 1 and 2 together, issubjected to the bending process, the headboard A1 with an excellentdesign can be provided. Moreover, as the respective plate materials 1and 2 are, although the inside surfaces thereof are formed with thesinks 5, eventually formed into a one-piece structure, there can beprovided the headboard A1 which is excellent in strength and easy toassemble.

[0031] It should be noted that the configuration of the headboard Ashould not be limited to that as illustrated in FIG. 4 in which it isbent in the vertical direction, but may be modified arbitrarily bychanging the configuration of the upper and lower dies. For example, theheadboard of the embodiment may be bent in the lateral direction, asshown in FIG. 5, concavely bent as shown in FIG. 6, or spherically bentas shown in FIG. 7. Further, the curvature thereof does not always haveto be constant, but it may be formed by the combination of differentcurved surfaces R1 and R2, as shown in FIG. 8, the combination of a flatportion H and a curved surface R, as shown in FIG. 9, or that of aconcavely curved surface R3 and a convexly curved surface R4, as shownin FIG. 10.

[0032] In FIGS. 11 and 12 showing a third embodiment of the invention,the same portions as those described in the foregoing embodiments willbe designated by the same reference numerals, and their repeateddetailed descriptions will be omitted.

[0033] While two sheets of the plate materials 1 and 2 are laminated toform the headboard A or A1 in the foregoing embodiments, an additionalplate material 20 is provided between the plate materials 1 and 2 in thepresent embodiment so that a three-layered headboard A2 may be provided.The intermediate plate material 20 is formed with openings 21,corresponding to the sinks 5 of the plate materials 1 and 2.

[0034] As is apparent from the foregoing, due to the three-layeredheadboard A2 provided by sandwiching the additional plate material 20between the plate materials 1 and 2, the thickness of the headboard canbe increased, thus giving a more solid and luxurious appearance to theheadboard. Further, as the intermediate plate material 20 sandwichedbetween the plate materials 1 and 2 is formed with the openings 21,corresponding to the sinks 5 of the plate materials 1 and 2, theheadboard can be further thickened without increasing the weight thereofso much.

[0035] Alternatively, when forming the three-layered headboard A2 bysandwiching the additional plate material 20 between the plate materials1 and 2, like the present embodiment, the respective plate materials 1,2 and 20 may be formed with cutouts 30, 31, respectively. Such cutouts30,31 can provide a kind of an ornamental pattern to enhance theattractiveness of the design of the headboard A2. Additionally, if theintermediate plate 20 is painted in a different color than that of theremaining plate materials 1 and 2, respective colors of the platematerials 1, 2 and 20 are exposed through the cutouts 30, thus providinga headboard with a novel design due to the creation of a unique contrastin color.

[0036] While the plate materials 1 and 2 are mutually positioned byproviding the columnar concave portions 7 in the plate materials 1 and2, and then fitting the positioning pins 8 in the concave portions 7 inthe foregoing embodiment, it is noted that when forming a headboard todefine a curved surface by laminating the plate materials 1 and 2 eachother, the difference in radius of curvature between the outer platematerial 2 and the inner plate material 1 is getting larger, as thethickness of the headboard A1 increases, and thus a misalignment ortotal displacement is likely to occur between them. FIGS. 13 to 15illustrate a means for preventing such misalignment that is likely tooccur when forming a curved surface, wherein the plate materials 1 and 2are mutually positioned at one end thereof by the engagement betweenaforesaid concave and convex portions 7, 8 like in the foregoingembodiments, while they are positioned at the other side thereof bylongitudinal grooves 40 formed in the plate material 2 and protrusions41 fixed to the plate material 1, said protrusions 41 being allowed toslide along the grooves 40. By properly positioning the other side ofthe plate materials 1 and 2, using the longitudinal grooves 40 and theprotrusion 41 that slide along the grooves 40, it is possible to absorbthe aforesaid possible misalignment caused when the plate materials 1and 2 are bent, using a press machine or the like, as the protrusions 41slide along the longitudinal grooves 40.

[0037] Incidentally, the present invention should not be limited to theforegoing embodiment, but may be modified within a scope of theinvention. For example, a laminated decorated board of the invention isnot only applicable to the foregoing headboards, but may apply to othervarious furniture products, such as backrests or armrests for sofa orchair, front plates for chest, and tables. Further, the invention shouldnot be limited to furniture products, but may apply to variousarchitectural products, such as door panels, room partition plates, etc.The plate materials 1 and 2 may be formed round or formed into anysuitable configurations, in response to where they are used.

What is claimed is:
 1. A laminated decorated board constructed bylaminating flat plate materials, which comprises one or more sinksformed on an inside surface of each plate material.
 2. A laminateddecorated board according to claim 1, wherein said laminated decoratedboard is formed by laminating at least two plate materials for formingfront and rear surfaces of said board, and an intermediate plate to besandwiched therebetween, said intermediate plate material being formedwith openings, corresponding to the sinks of said two plate materials.3. A laminated decorated board according to claim 1, wherein saidlaminated plate materials are formed with cutouts respectively so thatthey can provide ornamental patterns in the laminated board.
 4. Alaminated decorated board according to claim 1, wherein said laminateddecorated board is bent.
 5. A laminated decorated board according toclaim 1, wherein said plate materials are laminated to one another, withan adhesive.
 6. A method for forming a curved surface in a laminateddecorated board of claim 2, comprising the steps of positioning saidplate materials, using a positioning means when said plate materials arelaminated to each other.
 7. A method for forming a curved surface in alaminated decorated board according to claim 6, wherein said positioningmeans comprises concave portions and convex portions which are providedon respective joining surfaces of said plate materials, said convexportions fitting in said concave portions, respectively.
 8. A method forforming a curved surface in a laminated decorated board according toclaim 6, wherein said concave portions are longitudinal grooves, whilesaid convex portions are protrusions which are slide along thelongitudinal grooves.
 9. A method for forming a curved surface in alaminated decorated board according to claim 6, wherein said curveddecorated board defines two or more points of inflection.
 10. A methodfor forming a curved surface in a laminated decorated board according toclaim 6, wherein said decorated board is a headboard.